User blog comment:Bartholomew Billberry Bowstring/Sharpe's Highwaybeasts/@comment-32303-20121114124054/@comment-32303-20121119182459

Stryker smiled as she shaded her eyes from the sun with a paw, dropped her bundle and picked through it, talking to herself as she separated her tools:

"Cast net, check. Fishing rod, check."

''The otter stepped to the water's edge, surveying the ocean for any odd little splashes or ripples, splashes that would be caused by a fish. ''

"You know the difference between wave and fish splashes. Catch one fish with the rod and use it for bait, when you spot more than one coming in to investigate the bait, bring out the cast net. Mum taught you that when you were a cub, remember?"

''She readied the cast net over one paw, threaded a small piece of dried meat onto the hook, made an expert swing and snap with her rod paw. . . the line sailed out to let the bait float on the surface of the water. ''

Now, to mimic an injured fish. . . . Stryker twitched the rod, sharp repeated jerks that let the bait go under and snap back above the surface.